Chocolate Guinness Cake

I made this cake for the sole purpose of self-indulgence. I do like to bake myself a (chocolate) cake every now & then. The last time it was Delphine's Chocolate Cake - a beautiful authentic French recipe. This time it's a Chocolatey Guinness cake, courtesy of Nigella Lawson - click here for the recipe link.

I got the idea from my cousin. She came one Friday evening and cooked me the most delicious steaks ever ever ever & was raving about this recipe. She was right, it doesn't disappoint!

I made this in a tin that was a bit too big (hence the flatness) but to be honest, I like it & I think it stretched a bit further that way!

If you like chocolate cake, you'll like this one. You can't really taste the Guinness, well I didn't think so, but it's delicious and moist and stays fresh for a good few days after being baked. It's a bit like a giant brownie cake. So try it & let me know what you think!

Peace & Love
xxxx

Ps So I'm sitting down to write all about Chocolate Guinness cake when I realised that it was St Patrick's Day last Sunday. Get it? Guinness, Irish, St Patrick's Day...?
OK, so not the most exciting of revelations to be fair, but mildly amusing nonetheless! :)

It's a British Thing....

I've been sharing my old pictures on Instagram lately, (follow me by the way (@baileyana), and last week I posted some 'Cool Britannia' cake pops. I made them just over a year ago, because a friend of mine asked me for some British themed cakes that he could use as the cover artwork for his mixtape.

After I shared them, it occurred to me that I don't think I ever made a song and dance about having my very first album cover (see what I did there?) 

It's A British Thing by Dr Kwest on Mixcloud

A strange but true fact is that I actually have a song named after me. My dad wrote it the year after I was born. He was in a band (still is to be fair) called Black Slate although I think this was a solo venture. 

Track No. 4 Side Two if you're wondering...

The only problem is that I can't find it anywhere because it's no longer in circulation and he doesn't have a copy!!! 

Internet friends help me. If there are any hardcore, UK (red hot) dub reggae enthusiasts out there who can find this song for me then please do. 

If you find and give me a copy of the song, I will love you forever. 

And make you delicious cakes. 

And be really grateful.

My Dad's band back in the day. Amigo was one of their most popular songs, check it out!

Failing that, you could just write me a new song and maybe buy me some balloons.

(Just a suggestion, no pressure).

Peace & Love

xx

Lemon Meringue Pie

This weekend turned out to be pretty awesome, quite by chance! I had some good news on Friday which at first just seemed ok, but the more I thought about it, the happier I became. This set the tone for a weekend that was filled with friends, family, partying, baking and chilling - lots of chilling. 

On Saturday my friend stayed over and made me some traditional Spanish tortilla, which is one of my favourites. I had planned on taking pictures but ate everything before I remembered (sorry!) Anyways I decided to bake and fancied something lemony as I had a few left over in the fridge. Enter Stage right, Mary Berry, genius of all things British and bakey with this amazing Lemon Meringue Pie. 

This picture of the pie in the oven is the only one I took of it whole, once it came out it got eaten... It's that good!

Before I share the recipe with you, let me say that this pie is DELICIOUS, like "there's no need for you to taste this good" kind of delicious. Someone really ought to give it it's own TV show or something....

Lemon Meringue Pie (adapted from Mary Berry's 100 Sweet Treats And Puds)

serves 6

for the base:

175g/6oz digestive biscuits

75g/3oz butter (I used unsalted but she doesn't specify)

for the filling:

1 tin (397g/14oz) full-fat condensed milk

3 large egg yolks

finely chopped/grated lemon zest and juice of 3 lemons

for the meringue:

3 large egg whites

175g/6oz caster sugar

(you can increase this by 1 egg white and 60g of caster sugar for extra meringue-ness)

Equipment needed:

Rolling pin

a deep 20cm (8") flutted flan dish. I used a bigger dish and got a flatter pie but it still worked.

Preheat the oven to 190oC/fan 170oC/gas 5

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs in a plastic sandwich bag using a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Press into the bottom and sides of the flan dish and leave to set. I left mine in the fridge whilst I made the filling.

Pour the condensed milk into a bowl, then beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest and lemon juice. Pour the mixture into the biscuit lined dish.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Gradually add the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, whisking well between each addition until very stiff and all of the sugar had been added.

I spooned on about half of the mixture on to the pie and covered the surface before piping some cones on top using the rest for dramatic effect and because I felt like it! :)

Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 mins or until the meringue is light brown. I had my oven too low and got tired of waiting which is why my meringue is so light in colour. Leave to cool for about 30 mins or until you can't wait any longer and then tuck in! This pie tastes super amazing warm.... I'm in love!

Here's to a great week!

Peace & Love

xx

Cupcakes in Bloom

Happy Mothers Day! I had a beautiful day today with my two boys on what felt like the coldest day EVER! They made me lovely cupcakes and we took a trip down to the Sunday flower market at Columbia Road. 

Me and the boys

Now that I'm officially a Londoner again, and an East Londoner at that, I'm lucky enough to have that market on my doorstep. It's all it's cracked up to be and more although it's without doubt the busiest market I've ever been to!

My gifts

Whilst I was keeping hypothermia at bay in these near arctic conditions, my own mum was sunning it up in Jamaica (lucky for some!)

My beautiful mum, I love you!

 

In honour of all mothers everywhere, I made some blossom cupcakes, as inspired by Cup Cakes in Bloom in one of my many Peggy Porschen books. I'm thinking I'm going to do more of her cakes. I've got a few favourites that I'm really excited to try so keep an eye out!

Not everyone has their mother around or is fortunate enough to have the kind of relationship with their biological mother that I do, and for some it's a painful reminder that they do not have any children of their own. It's a bit like Valentines Day and Christmas; holidays that are meant to about love and family (and are), but that can also have a sad edge.

As for me, I'm grateful to have so many blessings in my life and to be surrounded by so much love and I hope to never take it for granted. 

Peace & Love
xx

International Women's Day

This post is dedicated to the women and girls across the world. It's for the daughters, the sisters, the mothers, the friends and the lovers. It's for those that inspire us; the freedom fighters, the entrepreneurs, the activists, the performers, the leaders. It's for the beautiful women that capture our imagination and ignite our jealousies. It's for the poets and storytellers that sing our lives with their songs. It's for the women who don't have a voice, who aren't allowed to learn, or to vote or to drive or to show their faces. It's for the ones that suffer abuse at the hands of those that should protect them and who silently carry their pain. It's for the women that have been betrayed or lied to and those that have betrayed and lied. It's for those that choose to stand and be counted and for those that quietly take a stand behind closed doors. It's for those that flaunt their sexuality in the name of freedom and those that see modesty as their strength.

But most of all it is for you, and for we, and for me.

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. Too weak to carry heavy weights but strong enough to carry life. As young women, our vitality turns heads and stops traffic, giving way to stretch marks that bare the scars of a fruitful womb. Our tears may flow freely but our courage will never shrink.

Peace & Love to all the woman and lovers of woman across the world, let us celebrate each other, today and forever.

xxx

Teddy Bear's Picnic

What a weekend!

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of making the sweets for a baby shower and then I met up with some old work friends and stayed up all night reminiscing. It was awesome but it's taken me forever to get over it: the days of staying up all night and being able to function are long gone!

Whilst I try to recover, have a look at some of the pictures from the tasty delights this weekend :)

Red Velvet Cake Pops

Cupcakes in a jar

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Fruit Sticks

Peace & Love

xx